Xiaoyue and Yunba met eyes. Yunba knew nothing, but Xiaoyue knew that if he came to Niukou Village, the Ge family would be the most familiar place to him. Xiaoyue immediately stood up from the stool.

Before Yunba could finish his meal, Xiaoyue rushed out the door. She ran to the door, but then realized something was wrong. She came back, picked up her basket, and filled it with some mushrooms she had picked from the mountain.

He ran towards Old Man Ge's courtyard. When he entered the courtyard, he saw that the window was open and Old Man Ge was smoking on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Ge Erping was sitting on the kang in the west room, sulking.

Grandma Ge was cooking in the kitchen and didn't notice Xiaoyue coming into the yard. Xiaoyue didn't stand on ceremony and went straight into the kitchen. When Grandma Ge saw Xiaoyue, she was very displeased and coldly said to Xiaoyue, "Why are you here?"

"I'm bringing you some mushrooms." Xiaoyue took off her basket, picked out the mushrooms, and put them in a bowl.

Grandma Ge rolled her eyes at Xiaoyue: "Nothing else."

Xiaoyue laughed in exasperation. It seemed that not only did she understand the Ge family, but the Ge family understood her just as well.

"I want to take the mat from Third Sister-in-law's house."

"Take it if you want! Those are Sanlinzi's things," Old Mrs. Ge scolded, her face dark.

“Third Sister-in-law and Little Bean don’t have mats to sleep on. If I send Third Sister-in-law back, she’ll probably be bedridden again in less than seven days. The cabinet was part of Third Sister-in-law’s dowry, but you won’t give her any, and you won’t even give her a mat to use.”

"Then I'll send my third sister-in-law back. Anyway, she's my third brother's wife, and we're not related." Xiaoyue knew that if she sent Lu Xiaomei back, Grandma Ge would have to take care of Lu Xiaomei every now and then.

Grandma Ge was so angry that she clattered the basins and ladles, venting her anger on the objects.

Xiaoyue could tell that Grandma Ge had agreed, otherwise she wouldn't have been so angry.

Arriving at the west wing, Xiaoyue pushed open the door. The room had been uninhabited for a long time; a cloud of dust rushed towards her as soon as she entered. Entering the bedroom, Xiaoyue saw two large footprints on the kang (heated brick bed).

Following the footprints, they pushed open the cabinet door and, sure enough, found a man hiding inside.

“Come out,” Xiaoyue shouted from the ground.

Despite his large size, Yun Xingfei managed to squeeze into the small cabinet on the kang (heated brick bed), his feet coming out first before his head could even reach the top.

Xiaoyue saw that Yun Xingfei's clothes were covered in mud, and he almost fell when he came out. He had to brace himself on the kang (a heated brick bed) to avoid falling.

I've never seen Yun Xingfei like this before. There are streaks of water on her face, her hair is messy, her clothes are wrinkled, and she looks extremely aggrieved. She even gave Xiaoyue a bitter smile, revealing two small tiger teeth.

Seeing him like this, Xiaoyue felt inexplicably sad. She had met Yun Xingfei so many times; he was always aloof and arrogant, with a sunny face and bright, captivating eyes.

Now, her peach blossom eyes had become lifeless, and her lips were pursed. Xiaoyue took out the uneaten dumplings from her bosom and handed them to Yun Xingfei. She went to the kitchen, fetched a bowl of water, and said to Yun Xingfei, "Just have some food to eat."

After Yun Xingfei finished eating the two rice balls with water, Xiaoyue comforted him, saying, "I'm not staying here anymore. My home is a new house I built myself, located outside the village. I'll go there when it gets dark."

As she spoke, she rolled up the mat and looked at Yun Xingfei: "Yun Ba is at my house, he's injured. Yun San is at the foot of the mountain, I found him too, I'll have someone carry him to my house when it gets dark."

Don't worry, they'll all be staying at my place for now.

Yun Xingfei greedily followed Xiaoyue's every move. Wherever Xiaoyue went, Yun Xingfei's eyes followed. He didn't say a word, like a wronged little puppy, neither crying nor making a fuss, his eyes filled with pleading.

Xiaoyue got goosebumps just looking at it.

Xiaoyue raised her hand to shield Yun Xingfei's aggrieved gaze and said softly, "It's alright, there's always a solution to everything, as long as you're alive."

He put the mat into his basket, told Yun Xingfei to hide it well, and then carried the basket back home.

Just as she stepped out of Old Man Ge's courtyard, she encountered Ge Erlin tiptoeing towards it. Upon seeing Ge Erlin, Xiaoyue felt even more annoyed, as it seemed he hadn't suffered much.

Xiaoyue nodded to Ge Erlin and was about to go over.

Ge Erlin approached Xiaoyue, leering at her face. The scar on Xiaoyue's face was now just a small mark; aside from her slightly dark complexion, she was beautiful with defined eyebrows and eyes, though her eyes were a bit cold, but Ge Erlin didn't care.

Ge Erlin had heard from Old Madam Ge that Xiaoyue's indenture was in Ge Sanlin's hands, so he came over to Xiaoyue. Xiaoyue dodged with her basket on her back, and Ge Erlin missed his chance. He turned around and leered at Xiaoyue's departing figure.

Xiaoyue held her breath and arrived at her home. With a cold face, she spread the mat on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the shack. She thought to herself, "Ge Erlin is getting more and more outrageous. It seems that after being beaten up by Hou San, he has no shame anymore."

After laying out the mat, he jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed), took a cloth and wiped the mat clean, then found a broom and cleaned the bedroom.

When Yun Ba saw Xiao Yue enter the room looking angry, he couldn't tell who she was talking to. When Xiao Yue came to help Yun Ba, Yun Ba tried his best to cooperate with her and helped her lie down on the kang (a heated brick bed). Only then did Xiao Yue go to the kitchen.

They found the pot that Gao Lei had given them, put it on the stove, added some water, added a piece of wood, and lit a fire, making the room warm.

Then she cleaned up the chicken, duck, and goose droppings from last night and threw them in the northeast corner of the garden with a shovel. Xiaoyue planned to wait until there was enough droppings to compost them into fertilizer and then spread them on the ground in the garden.

After cleaning the kitchen and watering it, the kitchen door was kept open with the door covered over the trap to allow ventilation. The moisture and odor in the kitchen quickly disappeared.

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